Banners Branding Columbia Pike as Arlington’s ‘Main Street’ Could Be on the Way

Some new banners proclaiming Columbia Pike as “Arlington’s Oldest and Newest Main Street” could soon pop up along the roadway, with a series of other new pennants close behind.

The nonprofit Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization is looking for the County Board’s permission to start putting up 48 banners along the road over the next few years, as it runs from S. Jefferson Street and S. Orme Street between the area just outside Bailey’s Crossroads and Pentagon City.

The 24-inch-wide, 48-inch-tall banners would be vertically mounted on street light poles along Columbia Pike, in order to “assist in identification and branding of the Columbia Pike corridor,” according to a county staff report.

CPRO is particularly interested in outlining “a Main Street vision” for the area, staff wrote, so the first banners would be placed at five intersections along the road as part of a branding effort along those lines.

In the coming years, CPRO also hopes to post pennants to identify the boundaries of various neighborhoods in the area, like Arlington Mill and Columbia Forest.

CPRO also envisions using the banners to advertise events like movie nights or farmers markets. The organization — which is largely county funded — will pay for the new banners, with a projected cost of $11,280 in all.

The County Board is set to vote Saturday (May 19) on whether to move forward with this project. If approved, the Planning Commission would hold a public hearing on the topic on June 4 and the Board would hold its own on June 16.

Flickr pool photo by Bekah Richards. Banner rendering via Arlington County.